WILLIAMS: Is 2013 Nexus 7 right for you?

A video game is played on the new Nexus 7 tablet during a Google event in San Francisco.
Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press
The new Nexus 7 tablet, left, works in conjunction with the Chromecast device to control a television during a Google event in San Francisco.

Last year when I reviewed Google's Nexus 7 tablet, I found it to be a nice piece of hardware at an affordable price, but suggested waiting to buy it because the iPad mini was coming.

This year, that recommendation changes.

In terms of pure hardware, the new 2013 edition of Google's Nexus 7 is the best small-form tablet on the market. But is it right for you? That depends.

If you're deeply entrenched in the iOS ecosystem with dozens of paid apps and the idea of repurchasing the same or similar products on Google's Play Store isn't appealing, the iPad mini probably still is a better deal for you. If, however, you use mostly free apps or are just casually browsing the Web, using social media and email, the Nexus 7 is the pick.

What makes the Nexus 7 superior to the iPad mini? It's faster, has a better graphics processor and, most importantly, has a retina-quality display, whereas the iPad mini is still showing off fuzzy pixels. Why does a retina-quality display matter? A small-form factor tablet is likely used for browsing the Internet and reading books. You want the most crisp text and graphics possible. The Nexus 7 gives that to you. The current iPad mini does not.

Google also has a nice profiles feature in the newest version of Android 4.3 that makes it easy for multiple people to use

the same tablet, but with different apps and permissions. If your kid is obsessed with a game ripe with in-app purchases, you can disable them on his profile so he won't be able to make purchases on the account.

Android 4.3 also is the speediest version of the operating system I've found. Google has focused on improving the performance of Android and it shows. Stutters and lags are becoming a thing of the past.

It's still nowhere near as fast and smooth as iOS in terms of scrolling performance, but the average user isn't going to notice.

The Nexus 7 isn't perfect. The rear camera added to this year's edition is subpar and produces almost unusable photos. It's also missing some key games that are still iOS-only, though most of the major titles are on both platforms.

Despite these issues, I can't recommend Google's new Nexus 7 enough. With rumors that the next generation iPad mini won't offer a high-resolution display, I'm hard-pressed to find a reason not to recommend the Nexus 7.

The 2013 Nexus 7 retails for $229 for the 16 GB version and $269 for the 32GB and is available now at most major retailers and on Google's Play Store at play.google.com.

Justin Williams enjoys using and writing about personal technology. He can be contacted via his website at carpeaqua.com.